We’ve been on a journey for the past few years as a business and as a Business Analysis function. As a BA function we’ve grown from a team of 2 …
Exciting Times
It’s that time of year when a lot of my time is dedicated to the Business Analysis Conference Europe in London. For the last two years I have been privileged …
Agile Projects Require Continuous Analysis
Too many agile projects fail to analyse the problem they are trying to solve because they feel analysis takes too long. All too often the decision to introduce IT is taken …
The Importance of Problem Analysis
In a fast moving business environment, organisations need the ability to respond quickly to changes in their business environment. Many industries are facing ‘disruption’ from emerging business models, new ways …
The Praetorian Business Analyst
The Prologue The Emperors of ancient Rome lived a life defined by power and authority, but also with the corresponding risk of betrayal and death, so it had its ups …
Audience Analysis: A Technique to help with Business Change
This blog is to provide a brief and the essence of my talk I delivered on this topic at Business Analysis Conference in London, September 25-27 2017. This is to …
Through The Lens of the Speaker
Exhausted but inspired, information overload but great ideas to experiment, implement and imbibe…. this was my feeling at the end of the Business Analysis Conference Europe 2017. What an amazing …
Why Presentation Skills Are Important for Business Analysts
I’m delighted to be presenting at the upcoming European BA Conference in London on a topic that is dear to my heart; Presentation Skills. This is a topic that would …
Business Analyst of the Year Award 2017
The search for 2017’s Business Analyst of the Year is almost complete with the closing date for this year’s entries now reached. The Award is sponsored by AssistKD and IIBA …
Harnessing Emotional Intelligence to Perform Business Analysis
Back during the industrial revolution, the focus was on “output” – everything made by machines and people working like machines too. They clocked in hours to create quantity all day …
The Art of Collaboration
For the last five years I have traveled this wonderful journey of learning Ryukyu Kempo Martial Arts. It’s an Okinawan, Japanese style of martial arts with a focus on self …
Interview with Gero Decker, CEO of Signavio
Gero Decker, co-founder & CEO of Signavio, tells us about his experience as entrepreneur founding a BPM start-up and shares a piece of advice he received early in his career. …
Business Analysts Can Enable Innovation
“If I had asked my clients what they wanted, they probably would have said a faster horse.” Henry Ford, Founder of the Ford Motor Company This infamous Henry Ford quote …
Business Analysis: Turning Gloop into Concrete
Business analysis is often seen as a technical skill. The business analyst builds process and data models, writes precise requirements, makes requirements traceable, estimates the effort involved, and so on. …
The Mythic Business Analyst: The Next Evolution of the BA Role
I have been interested in myths and legends for as long as I can remember, thrilling to the adventures of the heroes and heroines that battled the forces of darkness, …
BA Communities of Practice – Sweet Success Cannot be Achieved Alone
The term “Communities Of Practice” has not been around for that long in comparison to the word “Community” for sure, and the notion of the latter has been prevalent long …
Traceability is Vital in Harsh Conditions!
Adam and Ben, the two CIOs from rival companies eyed each other head to toe as they entered the main conference hall from two different entrances, not deliberate but a …
The Optimal Path to Success is Via Failure
Everyone has been a part of a project, willing for it to be over, disliking the results that they’re getting, and feeling like the project is rigid and they are …
The User Story Considered Harmful
Agile techniques have brought us many advantages and good ideas – unfortunately, the user story is not one of them. The user story is a “placeholder for a conversation”, or …
It’s Time To Ditch The Bridge
I suspect many people reading this article will, at some time in their career, have had the challenge of explaining what business analysis is. We’ve all had that dreaded moment …